"Break up"

The Alakanuk Slough, about a ten-second walk from my house.

"Freeze-up" and "Break-up" have been added to my vocabulary since I moved to Alakanuk.

Freeze-up and Break-up are major events. Freeze-up refers to the time that the Yukon River starts to turn itself into a very needed highway. This started happening around October. I loved walking to the dock and hearing the shattering tinkle of the ice below my feet on the shore, while the boats returned from hunting Mukluks (bearded seal) and other types of seal. The boats charged through floating ice, revving their engines if they got caught. In my class, the students would imitate their dads "brapping" the engine to toss the bow of the boat into the air to come down and smack the ice with the sharp aluminum edge.

During Freeze-up or Break-up, there are a few times that are almost impossible to cross the slough or river. Some people live on the other side, causing them to skip a few days of school or work since people can't boat or use a Ski-doo.

As the weather warms, the beautifully colored rocks are exposed as the snow melts. Swan, geese, and cranes soar into the area filling the air with their unique calls. People continue to push the limits on their semi-amphibious Ski-doos as they strive for good hunting and manaqing (there have been a lot of "Ci" fish downriver by Nunam Iqua).

Some say the river becomes unstable for awhile, but then it drains and the couple feet of ice rises and riding becomes safe again. I'll be honest and admit my snowmachine has sat in the same spot by my doghouse for a couple weeks now. I would go out on it, but not unless I had someone to follow who knew where it was safe to go.

As of this morning, Russian Mission's ice floated away and they have a free flowing river again. I have been curious to see how long ours will last. Some people think it will be many weeks, but I predict it will go just a day or two after we leave. However, I am the furthest away from an expert because I have no past experience and the only insight I have are the past dates of Alakanuk break-ups.

Here is a website you can follow the river reports. National Weather Service, Alaska
For more details of predictions and average break-up dates, click "Breakup Outlook" then "Breakup Summary."
However, I watched as they updated from 8am this morning to 3pm and they don't have Russian Mission reported as "open" yet, so stay tuned.

As mentioned before, snowmachines tend
to be used until the latest possible moment.

I'd like to dub this the Alakanuk Park-n-Ride. Right outside my house near the slough, it has been common practice to park snowmachines and then either walk or hop on a Honda. (By the way, many of you have already picked up on the fact that all snowmachines are called "Ski-doos" and all four-wheelers are called "Hondas" regardless of the make due to its popularity. Many students laugh if another student asks for a "tissue" instead of a "Kleenex" which I have let them know it is technically more correct to use the word "tissue.")

Briar lets out some energy by the airport.
Floating styrofoam and cardboard in some frothy film.
The snow has unveiled much trash similar to
this in many areas we walk. In a student's words,
"The flood will bring away the trash, so it's okay!"

An Evening Walk with Wildlife

Walking from my house towards the slough.

I love when Briar sniffs something in the wind.

My roommate's dog Briar.

Near my house (to the left is a corner of teacher housing).

My snowmachine awkwardly sinking in the melting snow.

I'll need to put it up somewhere soon before the river breaks and it floods. I'm hoping to rent or buy part of a large connex so it is locked, secure, and raised.

The kid across the little pond and I were both walking alone- he was throwing rocks into this pond, and I was just meandering. I noticed something in the water resembling a floating piece of firewood and told him to look. He saw it and told me it was a beaver (much later I discovered it was a muskrat) just before it gracefully dipped down. I asked him if it would pop back up and he replied, "It will." We quietly waited and after about six minutes of silent stillness I moved on.

Stepping off the trail isn't wise at the moment. I sunk up to my left hip.

For those of you who remember the bright picture from the fall with a clear reflection, this is the same shot only it is dressed up in spring.

Mold on the small building at the airport.

I noticed a thing that may be a security camera peering down as I rubbed my initials next to many others' onto the side.

Geese flying west.

When I came back by this pond, I waited and
sure enough he came up out of the water.

Muckboots

Although I've lived here many months, I occasionally get hit with a thought (not profound by any means) of, "Wow. I live in Alaska. I live in an isolated village-- so far from everywhere else!"

I had that thought yesterday as I tried to look for a sled at the school to haul some boxes home from the post office. My life went from always having a mailbox to now owning a P.O. Box in Alakanuk, AK. What's odd is the fact that I know from word of mouth if I received boxes or not. And what's even weirder is sometimes I already can guess that I do if I hear more planes flying in than usual.

The shadow from the plane my parent's flew in on.

A plane taking off while my class was playing on the deck (not great quality)

Today on my way home, I was happy with a package (my bed skirt from Amazon), thank you letters from my beautiful aunt, a medical bill, and some junk mail. I was walking on a newly barren mud road with plenty of dense snow on the edges. A high-school girl, who was standing with another girl, yelled out hello to me. When I asked them how they were doing, they stared back without answering. Then the first girl hollered, "Why are you still wearing your winter boots?" (Although the high temperature is hanging right around 32 degrees, people have been acting like it's suddenly summer.) My bright purple Muckboots are not only cute and comfortable, they are quite high-tech, flexible, very waterproof, and keep my feet at a nice temperature whether it is 20 below or 40 above (technically rated for -40 to 70, but I've noticed people who give those ratings must not actually test them out in Alaska very often).

So I decided to answer the girls by saying, "So I can do this!" I took a step off the road towards them. My foot broke the 1/2 inch ice on a 100-foot-across puddle of bright blue water surrounded by snow. I splashed my other foot in the 13 inch deep water. Their jaws dropped and then they started to smile.

I decided to step in any puddle, mud, or slush on my way to the house. What can I say? My Muckboots just make me enjoy walking through the muck. (These two pictures were showed in previous blogs from my trips to St. Mary's and Russian Mission)

Testing out my Muckboots in the first snow in St. Mary's, AK last fall.

Proving that my Muckboots are still going strong at the
time of the last bit of snow in Russian Mission, AK

Growing up in the wet rain and the "cold" weather in Washington doesn't seem so bad. When I went back to Washington, I had proper gear and wasn't complaining when others were. One thing I can say is I think Alaska has made me realize that sometimes a sweatshirt and flip flops aren't always sufficient and that there is absolutely no need to complain about a little cold or dampness when you have a warm jacket or waterproof shoes. (Again... these aren't profound thoughts on my mind tonight.)

Saturday

A couple of the Alakanuk boys were surprised to see a bear in the cafeteria. It had a bulletproof case, so I doubt it had much of a chance to eat them for lunch.

Yesterday, eight Natural Helpers and I were picked up in a chartered Caravan. We flew to St. Mary's, fueled up, and headed to Russian Mission. From flat tundra to tree-covered hills, our plane bumped along roughly over the Yukon. As our pilot took a few hard turns into "bear country" (they call it that for its abundance of bears, wolves, and moose), I laughed as the boys pretended to slide up against the windows or hang out of their seats. A modified version of the classic roadtrip game, Corners. The pilot pulled one last hard corner right before the runway into Russian Mission and my window was parallel with the brown dirt for quite some time. We arrived in good spirits and got settled into the school.

Our team split up into two rooms-- boys in the library and girls with me in the HeadStart room. The daylight lasts many hours, but the Natural Helpers are awake many more. Some didn't go to bed until 5 a.m. and others (including me) were waking up from showering girls and a crying baby by that time.

It's hard to tell in this picture, but they had about the largest cups I've ever seen... I don't know if I can drink that much.

This day has included breakfast, clean-up, games, basketball tournament, break-out sessions on multiple topics, lunch, a survey, meetings, obstacle course, supper, more basketball games, a prank on the seniors, clean-up, and the list goes on and on. As a sponsor, I wasn't required to participate in much, so the majority of my time has been spent in the office helping making a Prom Queen crown, checking in with the kiddos, walking them to the store, and encouraging them to participate rather than texting. It is amazing how 120 students can be in one place, yet be texting about 600 more people.

This was the first church built by the Russian Missionaries in 1850.

Tonight at the awards ceremony we honored two people from Natural Helpers from Scammon Bay who passed away this year. Their sponsor died giving birth this year. The group seemed to hold it together as they accepted the tribute. However, the next tribute also went to Scammon Bay. They had a young member die because he stepped in front of a bullet to save his mom's life. Many of the students hadn't seen the videos of the last fall retreat, so watching a movie with clips of his charisma and loving personality were extremely hard as that raw emotion rushed back to unhealed hearts.

(It is 4:40 a.m. and students are still running around the school. Music is bumping, the loud beats are vibrating through my body, as the Natural Helpers are either sitting on the bleachers or staying far away from the empty gym dance floor. Although there are many students here, a non-decorated gym and lots of students who weren't able to get formal wear doesn't equal much of a prom. They are occupying the wee hours of the morning to wrestle, listen to music in their rooms, play tag, make new friends, etc. I'm okay with them having this unique opportunity to get to know each other and build connections between villages, so I've been making the most out of it.)

A few of the female sponsors and I decided to make the staff room the "Laugh Room". Some people thought there was laughing gas leaking from the vents in there. Two days in a row people wandered in there to grab some snacks and commented, "We want whatever it is you have!" We watched a video online yesterday about the 5 ways a Native Woman laughs. They had watched it before, but I found out later they were watching me as I laughed. One said, "That's funny. You don't laugh like a kass'aq, you laugh like a native!" I guess I just like to move while I laugh, slapping my knee, leaning, and pointing. (Maybe that is one thing I've picked up without noticing...) My voice is hoarse from having too much fun.

If you do take the time to watch this, I want to note that we've decided there should be more traits. Number 6: The stomp. Number 7: The "wind-down" The more native women in the room while watching it, the better. Good, good times!

Down by the river there is lots of mud and erosion

Earlier today I had a chance to grab my camera and go down through the village to the airport with Russian's Instructional Leader Jason, his son, as well as the district's Directory of Technology and my friend Joshua Jerome. The sun was shining through the clouds, the snow is mostly puddles, and these guys dared to try some steep, icy trails!

The real excitement begins.

I was lucky to be able to go on this quick little excursion away from the school while our male chaperone took a turn of watching the kids during a basketball tournament. And thank you to a pretty generous IL for allowing me to ride a four-wheeler on a nice day outdoors to see some of the beautiful Russian Mission.

4:52AM now and most students are still rampant. My girls are coming in the room now, so I'll pop in the earplugs and hope we can all get a little sleep.

Natural Helper Spring Retreat in Russian Missian, AK

The Natural Helper Team, I (as the sponsor), and another as the male chaperone will be loading up onto two planes exactly 12 hours from now. The Spring NH Retreat is being held in Russian Mission this weekend starting tomorrow until Sunday. There will be lots of activities, skits, ice-breakers, a basketball tournament, a prom, and more for the students to participate in.
Who needs a suitcase when the good tried-and-true Alaskan tote works just fine. In this particular tote, I was able to fit props for the skit we still need to plan for, snacks, a pillow, shower supplies, and some warmer gear for outdoor activities, and my clothes for the weekend. Now hopefully I can get a little sleep before an entire weekend of giggling girls, boisterous boys, and hectic eclecticism.

Easter Sunday Activities

Since I have only witnessed two Easters with snow involved (I remember a snowball fight at my aunt's in Minot, ND and this year), I decided I should do something special to celebrate.

First off, my family called me on Skype after their Easter dinner. As foam bullets whizzed at my computer screen, my cousins, my brother, my dad, and more kept firing the nerf-guns. It was quite the welcoming heart-warming hello! Since this is a tradition I am usually a part of, it made me feel special that I was still being included in the fun. How many families celebrate with such unique toys? I love them.
Once I said goodbye, I stuffed myself silly on ham and potatoes. Then, I set out to do one more personal goal that I had yet to fulfill in this winter wonderland-- build a snowman. Since the temperature is rising I knew it would be a good chance to play in the snow. However, I didn't want to make any old snowman.... I wanted to make a snow-bunny.

Next to the Yukon, my Easter bunny started to form. The snow was a little older, wetter, and more difficult to deal with that I realized. It was warm enough for the first time this season to not wear Base 3.0 base layers, two layers of face protection, and my windproof jacket liner. Good thing I "underdressed" because I struggled and sweated to roll any snowball close to the shape of a sphere. However, he finally came to life.



I was shocked when he hopped on my machine and tried to take it for a ride. He must have been the one who 15 minutes later got it stuck in the sloppy dense snow... ;) I had to call for Josh's guns to get me out because after soaking my clothes and accidentally packing the snow more with my hands I couldn't get that thing to budge!

Happy Easter!

In response to my writing prompt about Easter traditions, many of my students wrote about coloring and finding Easter eggs and about even getting presents. However, I couldn't help but smile to find out that people also like to go manaqing (ice fishing) or rabbit hunting. Personally I can't laugh at anyone else's Easter traditions when mine have started including Nerf Wars with my cousins. The common thread is that we usually find something that we enjoy to do with the people we love. Today I hope to Skype my family who are all at my aunt Kathryn's house.

At 1, I'll go to the Easter service at the Catholic church and then cook a ham dinner with my roommate. Yesterday, I made my mom's famous crescent rolls as well as a new little trial cinnamon bun (they passed the test because I think I ate three yesterday).

Today I think about the man who named me after his mother- Itegmaralria. He tells the class I am God-given and that there is a reason God sent me here to teach them. Itegmaralria in Yupik means "precious gift from God." I believe after long prayer and with certainty that I was meant to move here and teach. However, the reasoning is unclear as it seems that most times it is difficult to foster respect in the classroom, it is almost impossible to work in unity as a school and staff, and discouraging to find any genuine friendship. I am trusting God chooses where he places my next step and I don't feel it's my place to wonder why. In Hebrew, my name, Jana, means "God is gracious" or "God's gracious gift."

In Swahili, Jana means "Yesterday." I know God has led my yesterdays. I am so thankful that he promises newness of life, love, and laughter because He sent His son to give us the most beautiful love story of all. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.

Happy Easter to everyone!

Yesterday, my students had fun with Easter supplies sent up from my aunt, Kathryn. She always knows how to celebrate!Students got to decorate foam Easter eggs

Who's going to win? Bunny or Chicky? We voted... I believe bunny won.

We tried a few different styles of Easter eggs

White Crayon and multiple dips

Rubber bands

The fun disposal of our dyes when we were done. The students saw a kindergartner eating some of the colored snow. I wonder how that vinegar snowcone tasted?